Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Principles

The Green Knight reminds Gawain of his knightly duty to keep his promise. The fact that Gawain has sworn to do this in the hearing of all the other knights means that his reputation will be damaged if he fails to carry it out - it’s a matter of knightly honor.

The idea that a person’s virtue might reside in their blood was a medieval one that justified systems of familial succession. It’s unclear if the modesty Gawain displays throughout the poem - calling himself the "least" of Arthur’s knights when he’s known as the best - is a false one or just another part of his virtue.

It’s easier to understand the difference between some of Gawain’s virtues by looking at the Middle English: love of fellow-men is "felaghschyp," which refers to something more like dedicated friendship than love. Purity is "clannes," which usually refers to chastity. Compassion is called "pité" in the Middle English. This virtue, greater than any other, is probably Christian charity, the love of others and God before oneself.

The pentangle’s design, with each line transitioning seemingly endlessly into another, emphasizes the way that the five virtues are similarly interrelated, each one depending upon the other. Similarly, Gawain’s ability to maintain his five virtues depends a lot on his devotion to Christ and Mary, two other ‘sides’ of his virtue-pentangle.

The pentangle Gawain has painted on the front of his shield represents his characteristics in five areas, as the following lines go on to detail: the perfection of his five senses, the dexterity of his five fingers, his devotion to the five wounds of Christ, his focus on the five joys Mary had in Christ, and his devotion to five virtues.

In addition to being a paragon of religious virtues, Gawain is a master of more secular virtue like the art of good manners, what in medieval romance was known as "courtoisie." The art of conversation depended upon providing delight to one’s companions with talk of matters entertaining but not so serious as to put a damper on the fun. For this reason the poem constantly refers to all the laughter and delight that occurs as Gawain converses with his hosts.

As part of Gawain’s knowledge of "courtoisie," he has expertise in love-talk, meaning that he knows how to talk to a lady so as to delight her.

Gawain puts himself at the disposal of his host in everything, something which both of his codes of conduct - courtoisie, and chivalry - require him to do. Since he has accepted the hospitality of Lord Bertilak, in courtesy he owes him a debt of gratitude as a guest. And since Lord Bertilak outranks Gawain, he becomes a substitute liege lord of sorts in Arthur’s absence, to whom he owes the same obedience and loyalty.

Gawain’s eagerness to make his appointment with the Green Knight is quite striking. How often do you hear someone say that they’d much rather meet their likely murderer than strike it rich? This passage just goes to show how seriously Gawain takes his knightly honor.

The lady’s implication here is that Gawain would be breaking the rules of courtesy not to seek a kiss from a lady who has asked for it with her flirtatious manner. Gawain is really in a bind now, because to reject the lady’s advance so overtly would certainly break the rules of courtesy, while to become romantically involved with her would be to betray Lord Bertilak and break the code of knightly conduct.

Gawain displays his great piety by seeking forgiveness and absolution for his sins at what he thinks is likely to be his last day on earth. This passage raises an interesting question, however: does Gawain confess that he plans to withhold the girdle from Bertilak, breaking the terms of the agreement? If he omits this, can he be forgiven? Is it ok to confess a sin you plan to commit, but haven’t yet? And is this withholding of the girdle even a sin, or is it just a breach of knightly conduct?

This is Lord Bertilak’s response to Gawain’s request for a man to lead him to the Green Chapel. It becomes ironic in light of the ending, when we learn that Sir Bertilak is also the Green Knight. Lord Bertilak might also be referring to his promise to return the stroke Gawain gave him in Arthur’s court one year ago.

Gawain is disappointed in himself, and he identifies fear as the thing that caused him to covet, or want to keep, the green girdle. This covetousness, in turn, caused him to break the terms of his agreement with Bertilak, proving himself dishonest. Gawain identifies these vices as alien to his nature, suggesting that he has much higher expectations of himself than even an ethic like Christianity, which views sin as an inevitable part of a man’s character. In fact, part of the lesson that Gawain must take away from his encounter is that he is an imperfect being, as prone to failure as anyone else.

The withheld girdle caused Bertilak’s axe to break Gawain’s flesh just as Gawain’s covetousness for it caused his dishonesty in the exchange of winnings. Gawain opts to wear it forever as a symbol of the deep-rootedness of misdeeds. Christianity believes that sins may be absolved and forgiven, but Gawain appears to have a much more pessimistic outlook, one that likely reflects his concern with the effect of a misdeed upon his honor and reputation as much as on his soul.